LONDON (Parliament Politics Magazine) – Boris Johnson has expressed his concern that Vladimir Putin may use chemical weapons in Ukraine, saying that such a move would be “straight out of Russia’s playbook.”
There is only one way the war in Ukraine can stop, Prime Minister Johnson stated on Sky News’ Beth Rigby Interviews, is if President Vladimir Putin realises he has made a “catastrophic mistake.”
Mr Johnson echoed Western leaders’ concerns that Mr Putin might use chemical weapons in Ukraine, following Moscow’s accusation that Kyiv was planning to use them on the battlefield.
“You’re hearing things about chemical weapons that are from out of their playbook,” he continued.
Russia begins to claim that its opponents or the Americans have chemical weapons in their possession.
As a result, if they use chemical weapons, as he suspects they will, they will have a maskirovka – a fake story – ready to go.
“You’ve seen it in Syria, haven’t you?” It was even seen in the United Kingdom. That’s exactly what they’re doing now. It’s a cynical and barbaric government,” he added.
Moscow announced on Wednesday that it has discovered a military biological weapons programme in Ukraine involving dangerous pathogens such as plague and anthrax, and demanded an explanation from the US about the “Ukrainian biological lab”.
“They have the capacity and the capability,” White House press secretary Jen Psaki said of the Kremlin on Thursday.
He certainly thinks if one looks at what’s occurred in Chechnya and Syria, and of obviously, what happened on their own streets in Salisbury, he wouldn’t rule out this possibility at all, said the former British intelligence officer Christopher Steele to Sky News when asked about the PM’s warning.
He further said that he believes that when the Russian force becomes bogged down and plainly fails to achieve its military objectives, you will see more indiscriminate killing and bombardment, as well as the possible use of chemical weapons.
Only Putin can admit to making a “catastrophic mistake.”
Mr Johnson said if there was a compromise to get Russia to stop the invasion that it depended on Putin and it was up to him and him alone.
He thinks he needs to realise that he’s made a terrible miscalculation, and that everyone can see that things aren’t going as he had intended, he continued.
He believes that withdrawing, ceasing the violence, and allowing a civilised negotiation to begin is Mr Putin’s best option.
He went on to say that Mr Putin might recognise his “catastrophic blunder now…or later,” but that the decision is “up to the Kremlin.”
Mr. Putin is warned by Mr Johnson that he “must understand that his options are not good,” but Mr. Putin has “made it extremely difficult to find an offer.”
Former chief of staff, Jonathan Powell, to ex Prime Minister, Tony Blair to told Sky News that the West must be “absolutely clear on chemical and tactical nuclear weapons.”
“I don’t see how we could stand by if he [Mr Putin] starts using them against the people of Ukraine,” he said.
“Because we’d have to be afraid for our lives if he used these barbaric weapons against us as well.”
Mr Putin will deploy chemical weapons, according to William Alberque of the International Institute of Strategic Studies, “in order to demoralise the population” of Ukraine, and “especially as a false flag operation.”
